How will you remember 2023’s financial highlights?
Edmund Greaves reflects on 2023, from real interest rate revelations, AI’s surge, Barbenheimer to King Charles III, and more industry moments.
2023 was the year that everyone got a bit of a look at how real interest rates work. The impact of that will take us well into 2024 and beyond.
Mortgage rates soared. Savings rates soared. Inflation stalled. The effects of the past 12 months will be felt keenly for some time to come.
AI exploded into public consciousness this way. It really felt like that happened on 1 January and now so much ink has been spilled on the subject we’re all expert opinion havers on it.
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter – sorry, ‘X’ – bedded in. What a strange thread that was for the year, and it’s still going.
Barbenheimer was the cultural phenomenon of the Summer. I must confess I just did the ‘heimer’ bit but it felt like a real cultural moment nonetheless. Barbie earned over $1 billion at the box office as a result, at a time when going to the movies looked to be dying out.
King Charles III was crowned, in a ceremony not seen in 70 years. It was a heady moment of national celebration but also reflection – and it caused the UK’s economy to go into reverse thanks to the extra bank holiday!
We could go on all day but here are some other memorable moments (in no particular order) from the worlds of financial services and comms over the last year:
- A banking crisis which enveloped SVB, Credit Suisse and others
- Mansion House reforms (this one’s for you Helena Jones)
- Rupert Murdoch retired
- Taylor Swift boosted US GDP with her Eras tour
- Argentina elected new president, Javier Milei, promising to abolish its central bank
- SBF went on trial
Have I missed anything? Yes, probably quite a lot. But these are the ones that stick out for me (and the helpful MRMers who I canvassed!).
It has been quite a year then for our industry.